


Trivia Gays

by SleepyDreamer19



Category: Marble Hornets
Genre: A little bit of angst, Canon Divergence, Fluffy, Kid Fic, M/M, Polyamory, Strong Language, a thrupple with hopes and dreams, alex is a redneck neighbor, brian is a single dad, jay is a trivia queen, thrupple, tim is a music teacher
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-17
Updated: 2020-12-20
Packaged: 2021-02-10 03:31:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21458944
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SleepyDreamer19/pseuds/SleepyDreamer19
Summary: Brian is a single dad in a new town, Jay is a trivia queen in need of a partner. And Tim is the local music teacher who's just in for the ride.
Relationships: Brian Thomas/Timothy "Tim" Wright, Jay Merrick/Brian Thomas, Jay/Timothy "Tim" W.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 38





	1. Chapter 1: How Many Legs Does An African Tree Frog Have?

The door closed behind Brian as he held his daughter’s hand tight, keeping her close to his side as they walked out into the stiff August morning air to the bus stop down the street. He couldn’t look at her because he was afraid he would just burst into tears at the sight of the small brunette girl with the bright pink Hello Kitty backpack. She walked with a little bit of a bounce in her step, humming a song she heard on the radio as she was in her own little world. 

She was starting school, she was a big kid now! Before Brian knew it he’d be buying her first car and getting ready for her graduation... Or worse her wedding. Pushing the thoughts aside, for now, he came to a halt once they reached the street corner. 

“Now Lily be safe.. Don’t be afraid to ask teachers for help and.. Have fun and make lots of friends.” Brian said as he crouched in front of her, holding her shoulders. 

“I will daddy.” She hopped forward a bit to give him the biggest hug she could manage, and he returned the gesture. Not letting go of her until the obnoxiously yellow bus rolled up. The driver opened the door, smiling at the panicked dad as Lily hopped onto the bus full of excited 5-year-olds. He waved until the bus was out of sight and walked back home. 

Opening the door he immediately felt bored and lonely. He didn’t work today, they just moved to this neighborhood so he didn’t really know anybody. After school Lily was going to a friends house so... What was he going to do until then?

Digging his phone out of his pocket he immediately opened up Google.

“What do single dads do for fun?”

***

Trivia. The answer was trivia. 

He spent a few hours looking up all the information he needed before going to some weird little bar and grill that was open on a Monday afternoon to go play some fucking trivia. 

And as the game went on Brian realized he was terrible at trivia. 

Another round drew to a close and he lightly plopped his head onto the table with a groan, he still had a few hours to kill but he wasn’t sure how much of this brutal ass kicking he could handle. 

“First timer?” A voice interrupted his thoughts. He peeked up to see a lanky brown-haired man, probably around Brian’s age.

“What gave it away?” He sat up straight with a small nervous smile

“Don’t worry, first few games are always a bit rough. Mind if I join you?” He pointed to the chair next to Brian. 

“Of course.” He gestured to it. “I’m Brian by the way.” He offered a hand to shake. 

“Jay, nice to meet you, Brian.” He gave his hand a gentle shake as he sat down with a sigh.

“Likewise..” Was he finally making a friend? “So do you uh.. Play a lot of trivia?”

“I guess so. I’m a freelance scriptwriter so I have a lot of time to kill. Probably not an ideal place for a 28-year-old man but here I am anyway.” He gave an awkward chuckle. It was apparent he was also a bit on the antisocial side but was trying his best to make this awkward bar dad feel a little less defeated. 

“I understand the feeling, are we the youngest ones here?”

“Yup, but if you come again you should be on my team and we can crush these old geezer’s together.” A man turned his head at the two when that was said, in which they both just turned their head away with a stifled laugh. 

“I’m sure you don’t want me on your team, you saw how rough that was.”

“Work with me, I can train you.” He did a little dramatic hand join me! hand gesture.

“You do make a compelling argument.” Brian teased, resting his head in his heads. He suddenly felt a bit fueled by some flirty energy, I mean he was a pretty cute guy with a seemingly good personality… why not?

“I am taking that as a yes!” Jay gave a proud smile. “Give me your phone and I’ll put in my number. We can make time to start claiming our victory.” He quickly did as Jay said, watching as he punched in the number and took the liberty of sending himself a text message before handing the phone back.

“So, this is a relatively small town and I think I would remember you if I saw you… are you new?”

“Yep, just moved here last month.” He kept out the whole single-dad card, not that he was embarrassed about it but it wasn’t exactly a page he felt like unraveling right now. “What about you..?”

“My husband and I moved here after college, so only a few years but it doesn’t take long to get the hang of this city.” 

Oh.. A husband. Regardless, Brian was just grateful he had someone to talk to.  
“Yeah, I’ve gathered. I’m surprised I found this place, I didn’t think there was anything this exciting around.”

“Well congrats my friend you found one of the most riveting places in this town. Next to the coffee shop and.. Maybe the mall.”

Brian gave a playful gasp. “A mall? How luxurious!” And then proceeded to laugh at his own joke, which Jay couldn’t help but chime in on. 

“You’re funny Brian.. Definitely the most exciting person I’ve met here.”

“I mean this is the first time I’ve been here but I think I would have to agree.” 

Jay flashed a smile at Brian but his expression changed as his phone gave a little ‘ding’ He checked the message and stood up.

“Well, Tim is here.. Keep an eye out, I’ll message you soon Brian.” He smiled and waved, and Brian returned the wave, watching as he walked out the door before once again slamming his head into the table.

***

Sure enough, once Brian got home from picking up Lily he was bombarded with text messages from Jay

“So good to meet you, Brian! Let’s kick ass in trivia.”

“My husband is glad I made a friend at trivia instead of an enemy, lol.”

“Coffee tomorrow?”

Brian chuckled at the messages on his phone. He found it charming that Jay’s texts sounded like something he would’ve gotten sent when he was in high school.

“Coffee sounds great.” 

He replied before getting back to his dinner with Lily. He wasn’t much of a cook so tonight was pizza night. She proceeded to tell him all about the people she met and the things she was going to learn.

“What was your favorite part of the day?”

“Recess!” She said without any hesitation. 

“Recess is pretty cool, huh?” Brian laughed, in which she responded with a very big nod. “But you don’t learn anything in recess.”

“That’s why it’s the best.”

He couldn’t argue with that. 

He gave a little defeated shrug in which she giggled and threw her plate away. He quickly finished his plate as well and picked Lily up, placing her on his shoulders, running around the room a few times before helping her wash up and get ready for bed. By the time he had her clothes picked out for tomorrow, she was already fast asleep. He gave her a gentle forehead kiss before returning to the kitchen. 

Brian sighed, being greeted by the silence once more as he put away the pizza and sat at the table. This time the silence wasn’t as hard to deal with though. He got to end the day with seeing his daughter, and he met a friend.

He opened his phone to another text from Jay about tomorrow. They hashed out a few details before the conversation came to a close. Brian gave a content smile and went off to get some sleep himself. 

He woke up in a better mood than the previous morning, walking Lily to the bus stop before going to meet Jay for coffee. 

He walked into the one familiar place in this town since he’s been here for his caffeine fix at least a few times. He was immediately waved over to a table with Jay, who already got them both vanilla lattes.

“How did you guess my coffee order?” Brian looked impressed as he sat down, grabbing his wallet to pay Jay back but it was quickly smacked out of his hands.

“No, it’s my treat. And it was a wild card but I’m glad I got it right.” He chuckled.

“Well thank you, I appreciate it. I’ll buy next time.” 

“That I can live with.” Jay smiled. “So do you work? You seemed like you had plenty of time to meet me here.”

“Oh.. Yeah, I’m a trauma nurse. I work night shift this evening.” 

“Trauma nurse? Damn, I wasn’t expecting that.”

“What were you expecting?” Brian raised an eyebrow. 

“...An actor.” 

Brian chuckled. “Maybe in high school and early college years, but not anymore. I have a real medical degree and everything.”

“Well, aren’t you fancy?” He teased before pulling out a notebook filled with points on trivia and even some example questions. 

“Woah, you were serious about kicking ass weren’t you?” Brian eyed the notebook, almost intimidated by it. 

“Oh Brian, of course, I was serious.”


	2. What Is The Capital of Denmark?

“Well Brian, I’d say today’s win was successful.” 

“And I would have to agree, Jay.”

They clinked their plastic cups together like they were champagne flutes, flashing each other a smile before going back to watching the cycle of the dryer. 

See, the place they do trivia at very rarely gives cash prizes. But they will give you meaningless coupons to try and make you feel validated. Today’s was a free load of laundry at the local laundromat. So what did our two trivia gays do? Get takeout, a bottle of wine and sit and watch their laundry. 

It’s been about two months since Brian was inducted into the world of trivia. And since then he’s been doing surprisingly well, with the help of his coach of course. The two quickly became the champions of Puzzles: Bar, Grill and Trivia. Beating all of the angry old people who thought they could stand a chance against two “whippersnappers.” Well they were wrong. And they had stacks of coupons to prove it. 

The owner of the laundromat sat behind the counter on his phone, watching some random sitcom and totally ignoring the two fully grown men having a friend date in a laundromat at 6 o’clock on a Sunday.

“How many more coupons do we have?”

“Enough to do this again next week!” Jay beamed. “Welcome to the life of trivia, my friend. You will never have to pay for laundry again.”

“Well that works for me! Between Lily and I we have a lot of laundry and I’m too lazy to get my washer and dryer fixed so..”

“I understand, but Tim and I haven’t had to spend money on detergent in months. So it’s worth it.”

Brian chuckled, taking a sip of wine. “So what are the other trivia perks besides.. Free laundry?”

“Why is that not enough for you?” Jay teased. “Well, sometimes we get dinner coupons.. One time we got one for the zoo and every once in awhile we’ll get some pretty decent cash. And if you win the national competition you get- ooh! Oh fuck! Nationals!! I forgot about Nationals!”

Brian looked to Jay as he bounced in a pure panic, putting his wine down and taking Jay’s cup out of his hand before it spilled everywhere. “Nationals?!”  
“Yes, nationals! There’s sectionals, regionals and nationals! FUCK sectionals is next week I have to get us signed up!” 

“A WEEK?! That’s so soon!” Brian’s eyes widened. “Jay I don’t know if I’m ready for something like that yet.” 

“You’ll be fine! You’re doing great!” 

“It’s only been a month though.. I don’t want to let you down-”

Brian’s miniature panic was cut off by Jay putting a hand on either shoulder, looking Brian dead in the eyes. 

“Hey! Brian! If I didn’t have that you could do this, you wouldn’t be my partner right now. Okay? You’ll be fine. I promise.” 

He immediately seemed to calm down a bit, giving a small nod. “You really think that?”

“Of course I do! I’m no liar, silly.” Jay chuckled, moving a hand to lightly boop Brian’s nose but keeping his other hand where it was for a moment. “If you don’t want to do the competitions we don’t have to but.. I think you’re ready.”

“No I want to. I really do.” He nodded. “Thanks for believing in me, Jay.”

“Well of course! You’re a natural there’s nothing to worry about.” He smiled at him, standing up to go check his laundry and Brian did the same. They went over trivia questions as they folded their laundry, and as soon as it hit 7 o’clock the door to the laundromat opened. 

The guy at the counter finally looked up from his phone, giving a monotonous “Can I help you?” to the new addition to Sunday night laundry fun time, in which he just pointed at Jay and Brian before walking over to them both. 

Brian noticed before Jay did, in which Tim looked to him and pressed a finger over his lips like Don’t say anything as he crept behind his husband and slowly wrapped his arms around him. 

“I heard you come in, dummy.” He fought back a grin but kept folding. 

“Well I’m sorry I was trying to be romantic.”

“Oh trust me you’re romantic, you’re just not sneaky.” 

Brian couldn’t help but smile at the two, going back and forth between folding an article of clothing and taking a bite of his orange chicken. Eventually after a few more minutes of playful banter Tim eventually turned his attention towards Brian.

“Has he drove you crazy yet?” He chuckled but put his guard up ever so slightly. The two knew each other fairly well by now but Tim still couldn’t help but be defensive. Like he was around most people besides Jay. 

“Oh not at all.” Brian smiled. “He’s great company.”

“Of course I am!” He moved away from Tim to grab his Chinese food, leaning against Brian a bit. “And Brian and I are going to try out for trivia sectionals next week.”

“Sectionals, huh?” Tim tried to keep himself from making fun of that, but he was happy his husband was happy. 

“Yes sectionals! And Brian is coming over tomorrow night so we can work on questions.” 

“I am?” He looked at Jay with a puzzled expression, while Tim on the other hand had absolutely no problem with it as he glided over to take some of Jay’s wine. 

“Yes you are. If we want to win we have to practice as much as possible.”

“Yeah of course! I’m just not sure if I should leave Lily two nights in a row.” He sighed, looking down at his feet. Both of the boys knew Brian was a single dad but knew absolutely none of the details. 

“You can bring her over Brian. Or we could even come over to your house. We’d love to meet her.” Jay offered. “You don’t have to be embarrassed about her.”

Somehow for the second time tonight, Jay was able to snap Brian out of his worries. And he wasn’t entirely sure how or why but he was grateful for it. After a moment of contemplating he gave a small nod.

“I get off at 4, if you want to come over.”

*** 

From the time he got home to the time he got off work the next day, Brian spent the entire time panicking. His only friends were coming over to meet his daughter. Who was not only the light of his life but the area where he was the most vulnerable. And on top of that… What if the friendship didn’t last? He didn’t want to do that to her if she ended up getting attached. 

He walked down to the bus stop to get Lily, waiting next to a few other parents. But there was one face in particular that was out of the ordinary. 

The neighbor across the street. Alex. Fucking. Kralie. 

The man rest against the bench, head tilted down so his straw hat was covering his eyes. Brian contemplated for a moment whether or not it was worth starting a conversation with him, but could use a distraction so he stepped forward anyways. 

“What are you doing out here, Kralie?”

“Whats it matter to ya, Thomas?” He kept his head down, quickly recognizing the voice. 

“Doesn’t Amy normally come here to get Jason?”

“Well Amy wuz busy, so she asked me to.” He finally looked up at him. “Didn’ think I could be capable of walking 5 minutes down the road to get my son from the street corner?”

“I never said you were incapable, I just didn’t think you would want to.”

Alex and Brian’s kids were in the same grade, and unlike their parents were actually kind of friends. The adults weren’t necessarily rivals, but would never consider themselves to be close. 

Just as Alex was getting ready to respond with some witty comeback the bus rolled up to the stop, opening the doors to reveal a bunch of excited kindergarteners. The spitting image of Alex hopped off and stood next to his dad, and a few moments later Lily basically jumped off and into Brian’s arms. 

“Hey, Pumpkin!” He chuckled, balancing her on his hip. “Did you have a good day?”

“Yeah!! Jason let me have his pudding at lunch!”

“Boy you better not get in the habit of doing that. My tax dollars paid for the puddin’.” Alex chimed, lightly giving his son a noogie. His expression stayed neutral but it was his way of (Maybe) joking and also showing affection. 

Jason tried to smack his dad's hand away because it was “embarrassing” before the four of them walked to their respective households in silence.

“See you around, neighbor.” Alex waved, ushering his boy in the house upon their arrival. 

Brian and Lily both waved goodbye, and moments later a car rolled up outside of their home. 

“Are those your friends?” Lily looked at her dad.

“Yeah that’s them.” He smiled, although back to panic mode. Lily just nodded, still perched where she was as she watched the two men get out of the car. 

“Brian!” Jay waved as he got out of the car, immediately running over. “And you must be Lily!”

“That’s me.” She giggled, lightly kicking her feet. 

“Hi!” He smiled in return. “I’m Jay, and that’s Tim.” He pointed as his husband stood beside him. 

“Hi Jay, hi Tim!”

They both waved at the small child, both of their hearts already melting.

“How old are you, Lily?” Tim asked. 

She held up her hand, signaling that she was 5. Tim immediately turned to Jay with an expression of I want one. Before looking back to Brian and Lily. 

“Well should we go inside?” Brian smiled, gesturing to his home. 

“Sure! Hold on!” Jay went back to the car, jiggling the handle until Tim unlocked it before grabbing a hefty stack of notebooks and returning to the group. At Brian’s expression change he just chuckled. “I’m surprised you’re still surprised at how seriously I take this.”

“...Only a little bit.”


	3. Which Planet Has The Most Gravity?

“Come on Brian you got this.” Jay encouraged, holding up notecard 15 of 200. 

“Umm..” He tapped his foot nervously, listening to Tim and Lily playing around in the next room. “Neptune?”

“EH! Jupiter.” He watched as Brian slumped onto the table with a defeated sigh. He reached over to give him a little head pat. “It’s okay Brian, you’re doing great.”

“I have missed half of the questions you’ve asked, Jay.”

“It’s okay really, it happens.”

“But all the competitions and sh... stuff” He censored himself since you know his 5-year-old daughter was in the next room. 

“Brian, look at me.” 

He paused for a moment before lifting his head off the table to meet eyes with Jay. 

“I can tell you’re stressed.”

“No, I’m not. I’m fine really, just having an off night I guess.”

“Brian it’s okay... I’m an empath. So what’s wrong?”

As Brian was about to give in and answer, the doorbell rang. 

“Oh look at that! Pizza!” He quickly got up, grabbing his wallet and opening the door. He could hear Jay sigh from behind him but ignored it as he paid the delivery buy and brought in the food. Jay just shot him a look of We’re not done with this. But left it alone for now so they could all enjoy their food. He put the boxes down and helped Lily wash up before the two of them sat down at the table with Tim and Jay. 

“You need us to help cover the pizza, Brian?” Tim asked, reaching for his wallet.

“No, it’s on me.” He smiled, getting Lily a plate. Tim just watched with a smile as she happily kicked her feet, but waited patiently for her food. He already adored this small child and would do anything for her. 

“Well, thank you,” Jay said on behalf of both of them.

“It’s no problem really. Now eat.”

They did as they were told and dinner was filled with mindless conversation, mainly Lily telling random stories in the day and life of a 1st grader which had all three boys captivated. They took their time eating and talking before Tim resumed playing with Lily in the other room while the trivia boys continued to quiz each other. So far Jay didn’t bring whatever was bothering Brian back up, although his game was still off for the night.

“Hold on.” Brian sighed, peeling his face away from the table once more. “Sorry Tim, but someone has to go to bed!” He ran over to Lily, picking her up in his arms. She gave a little giggle and smiled. 

“You’ll come back. Right, Mr. Tim and Mr. Jay?” She asked, peeking over Brian’s shoulder. 

“Of course we will sweetie.” They said in unison, which made her eyes light up. 

Brian smiled and carried her to her room as she said her goodbyes to her new friends. As he got her ready for bed all she could do was rave about how much she loved “Her dad’s new friends.” And as much as that made him happy, it also made him nervous. 

“Night Lil.” He smiled, kissing the top of her head. 

“Night.” She smiled, curling up with her stuffed animal. He gave a small smile, flipping off the light and cracking the door before walking back to the kitchen. 

Tim and Jay were both sitting at the kitchen table waiting for his return when he got back.

“Um.. yes?”

“Brian, sit down.” Jay pats the table, crossing his arms. 

He walked over and sat down at the end of the table, looking at them both curiously.

“I told you, dear boy, I’m an empath. So what’s wrong? You’ve been out of it all night.” 

“Brian you can trust us,” Tim added on. The way he said it sounded like they’ve known each other for years when it’s only been a matter of months. And he could trust them, but that didn’t stop him from being nervous about opening up. 

“I just get a bit nervous introducing Lily to new people. That’s all.” He sighed, which was at least half of the truth. But all that they were getting for now.

“Why?” Jay tilted his head. 

“It’s just. You guys are great but if this friendship doesn’t last forever I don’t want to see her upset. She tends to latch onto people pretty easy.” 

“Woah hold on! Do you think you can get rid of us? You’re my trivia partner so sorry but you’re in for life pal.” Jay looked right at Brian. Which his words surprised him but it was a relief. 

"Really?"

"Yes really. You're a good guy Brian, and we want to be there for you and Lily both." Tim added in, he could tell they were probably his closest friends and wanted to be able to be there for him. 

"Thank you, guys." Brian gave a small smile, still nervous but relieved that they were being so kind to him.

“You don’t have to thank us, it’s what friends are for right?”

“Yeah.. you’re right.”

***

The boys spent a few more hours practicing, but a few hours turned into a few more days, and a few more days rolled over into sectionals. Obviously, Jay and Alex qualified so they were now getting ready to go to regionals. 

Brian was at work, but thankfully it was a peaceful morning in the ER. Both for the fact of the limited amount of people getting injured and also because Jay would not stop texting him. 

Jay: “Okay so we’re coming over tonight right?? To plan for this weekend?”  
Jay: “You asked off?”  
Jay: “Did you call a babysitter?”  
Jay: “WAIT. Why don’t you take Lily with us? We’ll only be gone for a night!”

Brian: “Yes you’re coming over. Yes I asked off and we can see if Lily wants to come.”

Jay: “Yay! It’ll be so much fun. #Vacation!”  
Jay: “And also, thanks again for doing this with me. It’s a lot more fun with a partner :)”

Brian: “Of course, Jay. I’m glad I get to be apart of it with you.”  
Brian: “We can celebrate later, but I gotta get back to work for now.” 

Jay: “Two messages in a row?! I’m training you well. See ya later!” 

Brian chuckled and put his phone away, getting up to check on his patient before sitting back at the desk. Once he returned, one of the other nurses on the floor with him was waiting patiently for his arrival. 

“Hey, Annie.” He nodded, sitting down to type in some info.

“Hey, Brian!” She acknowledged before sitting down next to him. “So who were you texting? You seemed happy.”

“Huh? Oh, no one, just my trivia partner.”

“Trivia partner? It sounds like a commitment. “

“Kinda, but it’s a lot of fun.” He nodded with a tiny smile. 

“It’s a lot of fun… Or you like spending time with him?” She raised an eyebrow at him, giving a little smirk. She was determined to know what was making the awkward ER nurse so happy. 

“Both?” He chuckled.

“Cool. So when are you going to ask him out?” She whispered

“WHAT? Annie no, he has a husband.”

“So if he didn’t have a husband you would?”

“We are literally on the clock in the ER do we have to talk about this now?” Brian looked at her, feeling embarrassed. 

“Yes we do, you’re stuck with me and Jeff ‘til tonight.” On cue, the other nurs, Jeff, came up to the desk to type up some things as well. 

“Ooh! Are we interrogating Brian?”

“Yeah, he’s in love.”

“No I’m not!” He blushed, getting up to go check on his patient. “And now we’re done talking about this.”

“No we’re not Brian!” The two pushy nurses responded in unison. He just sighed, shaking his head as he entered the patient's room. Took their vitals, asked some questions and did his rounds just to be greeted by another bout of questions that would last the rest of his shift. 

Did they get any further information though? Definitely not. 

He eventually passed the baton on to the night shift nurse, waving goodbye to everyone in the ER before changing out of his scrubs and heading home. Tim offered to watch her after school, so he was already at the house when he got back. 

“Dad!” Lily smiled, running towards him with a stuffed animal in each hand. 

“Hey Pumpkin!” He smiled, giving her a big hug and waving to Tim. “Thanks for this, you didn’t have to.” 

“It’s no problem, I mean it’s not like we were already conveniently in the same building.” 

Oh yeah, Tim was the music teacher at Lily’s school. Basically right after he met Lily, they cleared it so Tim could take her home if Brian ever needed him to. 

“It’s too bad you aren’t in my class, huh?” 

“It is! I wanna learn about music.”

“You do?” Brian asked but both he and Tim looked surprised.

“Mhmm!” She grinned, making Tim’s heart melt. 

Moments later, Jay walked in with a notebook in hand. Kissing his husband and waving to the Thomas family before sitting down at his claimed spot at the table.

“So. Who wants to go to Minnesota?"


	4. When Is Brian’s Birthday?

The weekend arrived quickly, and it was time for a road trip. It was early in the morning but was about a five-hour drive, regionals were tonight and they would head back tomorrow. As suggested, Lily came along with the boys and she was very excited for her first out of state trip. 

“So who’s sitting where?” Tim asked as he closed the trunk of Brian’s minivan. It was the best option. 

“Well, I guess uh... Who’s driving?”

“Not me. I’m a terrible driver.” Jay said and immediately sat in the backseat with Lily. 

“He’s not wrong.” Tim whispered to Brian with a small smirk. “I can drive there, if you want to drive back?”

“Sure! If you don’t mind.”

“Not at all, I kinda like driving.” He nodded and sat in the driver's seat. “You get to DJ, though.” 

“Well don’t judge my music taste, it’s normally pretty alright but for now I gotta make sure it’s things my daughter can listen to.” He chuckled, making sure she was all situated and buckled in before sitting in the passenger's seat while Tim grinned at the comment and got the car started. “You going to be good back there for Jay?”

“And are you going to be good back there for Lily?” Tim added in sarcastically, looking back at his husband who was already cuddling a stuffed animal. 

“Yes!” They replied in unison, although Jay’s was significantly more salty. 

Tim chuckled and pulled out of the driveway while Brian put on some music. Ed Sheeran, mainly. But with the occasional 15-minute jam sessions of Baby Shark. Not even initiated by the 5-year-old herself, but one of the almost 30-year-old men in the car. But she was having the time of her life. Brian and Tim carried on some mindless conversation, while Jay spent some time with Lily. It was kind of nice since it was the other way around the last week or so. 

But a little over halfway through the drive, Jay started getting antsy. “Can we stop somewhere? I’m hungry.”

“Me too!” Lily chimed in. 

Tim glanced at Brian out of the corner of his eye. “See what’s around here?” He nodded and pulled out his phone.  
“Okay, there’s a Burger King, Applebees, some kinda pizza place, an Italian place-”

“Ooh! Italian! I could go for some alfredo right now.” Jay bounced in the backseat. “What do you think Lil, you like pasta?” 

Brian froze for a moment, he wasn’t used to anyone else calling her by ‘Lil.’ Not like that was coined for her by Brian it just surprised him. 

“I like… Mac and cheese!”

“Well, that’s pasta! To Italian food!” 

They drove to the restaurant and spent about an hour talking about mindless things over the mountains of alfredo before getting back on the road. And in about two hours, they were at the hotel. 

Tim waited with Lily as Brian and Jay checked into the rooms, at least a handful of people reasonably mistaking her for his daughter. After a few moments, they took their suitcases and backpacks and went up to their rooms on the fifth floor. The entire time, Lily was in pure amazement between the elevator and the view from the hall windows, and her reaction to the hotel room itself was priceless. They all wished they could’ve videotaped it. And as cute as it was, Brian felt bad for not doing much like this with Lily. He just never had the time. 

With a few hours to kill until regionals, Lily took a nap as Brian mentally prepared himself for tonight. And Jay and Tim spent some time in their room mindlessly chatting and flipping through the channels. But before they knew it, it was time to start kicking some ass. 

Thankfully the competition took place in the hotel conference rooms, so it wasn’t much of a trek to get there. While Tim once again watched Lily, Brian nervously waited with Jay. They were at a table with a buzzer for each of them, facing another table of opponents. This was for the double teams, so whoever won would stay and continue to challenge other teams until they placed. 

“Bri, you got this.” Jay attempted to pep talk. 

“Thanks. So do you, Jay.”

“Well of course I do.” He winked. “You just gotta have the confidence. And you’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, I’m not very confident yet.” Brian chuckled nervously. 

“You’ll get there. It takes time.” He gave him an encouraging shoulder pat. Brian calmed down ever so slightly, and Jay just kinda kept his hand on Brian’s shoulder until the judges sat down across from the two tables.

“Well, let's get started shall we?”

*** 

“Final Question: What is the painting 'La Gioconda' more usually known as?”

The room was silent, whoever was left was on the edge of their seats as they waited to see who would be the first to buzz in. The last pair of opponents looked at each other curiously, but quickly ran out of time as Brian hit his buzzer.

“The Mona Lisa.”

The judges stayed silent for a moment as they checked their answers. 

“Correct. Team Jay and Brian from Wisconsin are the winners of this regional competition. Congratulations, you’ll be moving onto nationals!” 

On cue both boys jumped up from their seats, everyone clapping but especially Tim and Lily. 

“We did it! You did it! Oh my god, we're going to nationals!” Jay squealed as he threw his arms around Brian’s neck in a hug. He was too excited to process it so he just quickly returned the hug, Tim and Lily coming up to join them in a big group moments later. 

“I’m so proud of you losers!” Tim chuckled with excitement, Jay now hugging him as Brian picked up his daughter. Three hours straight of trivia finally came to a close, just to do it all over again next weekend. The opponents throughout the night came up to congratulate the two, and they went to talk to the judges about nationals before heading back up to the rooms. 

It was late, so they decided to just call it a night and celebrate in the morning. Lily passed out quickly since it was a bit past her bedtime, Tim was tired from driving but Brian and Jay were still wired from the night’s win.

Jay: “Good job tonight!” 

Brian: “You too! Really glad we made nationals.”

Jay: “Me too! How should we celebrate tomorrow?”

Brian: “Let’s go get a nice breakfast somewhere.”

Jay: “Ooh! If we tell them it’s our birthday maybe we’ll get something free.”

Brian: “Lol. Maybe.”

Jay: “What kinda free shit do you get at breakfast? You think you’d still get cake? Anyways, well again, good job tonight. You really saved us on that last question. See ya in the morning!”

Brian: “Night!” 

He closed his phone with a sigh, staring at the ceiling for a while before eventually falling asleep. 

And sure enough, the next morning was full of celebration. 

Brian and Lily woke up first, he helped her get ready and got all of their stuff packed up and waited patiently for the text for what was next. After channel flipping for a little bit, Brian’s phone went off. 

Tim: “Yo. Jay and I are down in the lobby.” 

Brian: “Cool, Lil and I will be there in a few.” 

Tim: “:)”

“You ready?” Brian asked as he finished putting Lily’s hair in a braid. It wasn’t the best, but he tried. 

“Mhmm! I’m hungry.”

“Well good thing we’re gonna go get some breakfast, huh?”

“Yeah!” She put her backpack on and grabbed Brian’s hand. He grabbed him as well, making sure they got everything before leading her out the door. “Can I get pancakes?” She asked as they waited for the elevator. 

“You can get whatever you want, sweetie.” 

“So I can get pancakes aaaaand waffles?”

“You can get.. One dish of whatever you want.” He chuckled, walking into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby. 

After a few more breakfast questions they landed at the lobby. Lily went to wait with Tim, while Brian checked out. And then they all loaded back in the car to eat and go hit the road. 

With Lily and Jay in the back, Tim and Brian swapped their seats from yesterday.  
“Your turn to DJ. And to find us a place to eat.” Brian chuckled. 

“Oh yeah! Well it’s.. Your turn to drive? I don’t have a good response for that.” Tim stated awkwardly, pulling out his phone and putting one some sort of soft bouncy music. Brian and Jay both chuckled, Jay was happy to see Tim joking and opening up to Brian a bit more. 

They drove the 10 minutes to an Ihop and basically ordered a shit ton of pancakes and bacon for the table. All of the boys with their coffee while Lily had her apple juice. While Brian and Tim chatted mindlessly, Jay and Lily where on the other side of the booth whispering something to each other. 

“What are you two doing?” Brian raised an eyebrow. 

“Nothing..” They both giggled. 

“Hey Brian, I left my phone in the car. Can you go get it?” Jay asked, still smiling. Brian, who was on the outside seat of the booth hesitantly nodded and walked to the car because he couldn’t say no. No matter how suspicious he was. But sure enough, Jay;s phone was in the backseat. He was waiting for something to jump out at him, or something to happen but when nothing did he headed back inside. 

“Here.” He handed Jay his phone, and now all three of them were smiling. 

“Thank you, Bri!” He smiled innocently. 

“Yeah no problem.” He nodded, still suspicious. 

After a few moments of silence, the waitress came with their food, Jay gave her a small nod and glanced to Brian but he didn’t notice that as he was busy dishing some food out to Lily. 

They all gave her a chorus of ‘Thank you’s and dug in, but it bothered Brian how they were all silent for once. Everyone at the restaurant chattered amongst themselves but their table just occasionally glanced at each other and snickered and that was pretty much it. 

Brian figured out why by the next time they were approached by the waitress. 

The restaurant exploded with a chorus of ‘“Happy Birthday” As she walked towards them with a group of workers and a stack of pancakes with a candle sticking out of the top. Brian’s face immediately turned red as he was bombarded by the restaurant and his own friends and daughter. 

“Thank you…” He said as his face was still hidden behind his hands, moving it just enough to blow out the candle. As everyone settled down, the booth was now filled with laughter.

“Happy Birthday, Bri!” Jay giggled. “Thanks for the pancakes.”

He should’ve known. Jay mentioned it yesterday so he should have remembered.

“Sorry, dad but… we got more food.” Lily gave a mischievous grin. 

“I can understand you two but turning my own daughter against me? That’s low.” Brian joked, although he was still incredibly embarrassed and would continue to be from here on out until they got back to Wisconsin. 

“Hey but, look how many leftovers we’re going to have.” 

“And they gave us chocolate chip pancakes dad! Maybe it can be Mr. Tim’s birthday next so we can get more!” She giggled, making both Brian and Jay laugh as he hid his face.

“That is an excellent idea, Lily.”


	5. Room 5.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TRIGGER WARNINGS FOR THIS CHAPTER:
> 
> Vague mentions of a car wreck  
Mentions of death  
Anxiety/Self deprication

When they got home that evening, everyone was in high spirits. Ready to rest and start planning for New York next weekend. They took the rest of the day to relax and unwind, planning to meet back up to get back to practicing tomorrow.

Brian woke up early, dropped Lily off across the street with Amy and Alex so they could take her to the bus stop with Jason and went off to work. It was a gloomy but peaceful morning, checking in on the patients that were admitted during the night. His normal team of Annie and Jeff joined him, and of course, tried to interrogate him more about “the boy.” Everything was in good fun for awhile, until they got the word.

“Emergency Department: Please prepare for the ambulance. Car wreck, multiple patients. Four in critical condition, two in minor condition.”

They all rushed to the doors, helping the EMT’s bring the patients in. Brian didn’t notice something about one of them at first, and Annie tried her best to shield it from him but she got sent off to care for another patient. Brian looked around but was stopped by one of the doctors. He knew he’d be able to care for this patient well, given the fact that he was a father.

“Thomas, you’re in room 5.”

***

Brian changed out of his scrubs, pulling his coat around him tight as he walked through the ER and out the doors. He didn’t stop to talk to anyone like normal, he just went to sit in his car. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

He couldn’t get the events of the day out of his head and it was eating him alive. He just watched the rain hit the window until the car got too cold for him to stand, and he drove away in silence. He could hear his phone going off over the sounds of the storms but didn’t bother to reach over to pick it up. He eventually pulled into the driveway but just sat there. He couldn’t get it out of his head.

The yelling, the hum of the flatline, the fizz of the defib. The crying and blaming.

_“Why couldn’t you save her!?” _

_“Ma’am we did all that we could. I’m sorry.” _

_“If you did everything you could. She would be ALIVE! Now get out!” _

He shook his head, trying to snap away from the memories and forced himself out of the car, taking his time as he slowly dragged himself to the front door. Once he unlocked it he stepped inside, hanging up his coat and walking a bit into the house but not even reacting as his wet shoes slipped on the tile. He hit the ground fast, letting out a groan as he moved himself so he could lean against the wall. He slipped off his shoes, ignoring the sharp pain in his ankle and sat there for what felt like a long time, letting a few tears slip down his cheeks but he was still. Focusing on the sounds of the rain and the cries from his memories.  
  
What he didn’t know was Tim and Jay were on the way with Lily, ready to pick up their normal routine. They were already concerned that he wasn’t picking up his phone, but assumed he was still driving home. But they noticed before they even got in the house that something wasn’t right. Brian never parked in the driveway, and he never kept the front door open and the screen closed. They learned that in the last little while. That was when they really started to worry.  
  
As they pulled in behind Brian’s minivan, Tim looked to Jay. “Let me go check and make sure everything’s okay.” He whispered, grabbing something out of the center console before exiting the car.  
  
“What’s going on?” Lily looked around curiously.  
  
“Nothing sweetie, Tim is just gonna check in on something okay? We can go in and see your dad here in a few minutes.” Jay wasn’t entirely sure what to expect, but they both suspected things weren't entirely okay.  
  
Tim slowly made his way towards the house, keeping a hand in his pocket as he opened the door. “Brian?” He asked softly as he opened the door and stepped in. He noticed the footprints and kept going until he eventually saw Brian slumped against the wall. He didn’t even seem to notice that Tim walked in, and didn’t even look up at him. “Woah, hey. Are you okay?” He crouched down in front of him, putting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
He finally glanced at Tim, just staring for a moment before looking back down at the ground.  
  
“Where’s Lily?” He asked softly, fiddling with his sleeves.  
  
“She’s in the car with Jay. But really, are you okay? Are you hurt? Why are you on the ground?”  
  
“I’m fine.”  
  
“I’m having a hard time believing you.” Tim sat next to him. “Just at least tell me you’re safe. Or I will kick some ass.”  
  
“I’m safe.”  
  
“Okay, good.” He sighed. “You worried me there.”  
  
“Sorry.”  
  
“No no, it’s fine. Do you want us here? If you need to be alone, Jay and I could go home.”  
  
“I rather not be alone right now.”  
  
“Well, we’ll stay as long as you need us to.”  
  
“Thanks.” Brian sighed, trying to calm himself down a bit.  
  
“Bad day at work?” Tim looked to him , watching as Brian leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. But he still couldn’t shake any of those feelings. It reminded him of events he wished to forget. It made him feel things he never thought he’d have to feel again.  
  
“You could say that.”   
  
“Wanna talk about it?”   
  
“I.. Don’t know yet.” Tim nodded, respecting his privacy and whatever time he needed to process but concerned as to what could have shaken Brian so much. In the few months they’ve known each other, he’s never seen him as anything less than the sweet, easy-going dad. After a moment, Brian tilted his head to the side a bit. Not intending to do so, but let his head gently fall against Tim’s shoulder. It caught Tim off guard, but he just kind of let it happen.   
  
“Can we bring Lil and Jay in and order some food?” Brian asked after a few moments, lifting his head. He was a little embarrassed but too tired to care.   
  
“Of course.” Tim nodded, standing up and extending a hand to Brian. He accepted the help and stood up, not remembering the pain in his ankle until he did so. He wobbled a bit but Tim kept him steady. “You okay?”  
  
“Yeah. I slipped on my way in, think I hurt my ankle a bit.”  
  
“Well. You’re the nurse so I’ll trust your judgment but do we need to go to a doctor?”  
  
“Nah.” Brian shook his head, keeping ahold of Tim’s hand. “It’ll be fine.”  
  
“If you need to go somewhere though you’ll tell me, right?”  
  
“Yes, I will.”  
  
“Good.”  
  
Tim helped Brian over to the couch to sit him back down before walking towards the door to go get Lily and Jay. He walked up to the car and sat back in the driver's seat to put what he took out where it rightfully belonged and quietly filled Jay in on what he knew before turning back to Lily.   
  
“Now we can go inside, hun.” He gave a small smile, getting back out to help her out of the car and into the house with Jay following close behind.  
  
“Daddy!” Lily smiled, immediately running towards Brian.  
  
“Hey Pumpkin!” He quickly lifted her into a hug. He was relieved to see her. “How was school?”  
  
“Boooring! We couldn’t go outside because of the rain.”  
  
“Well, that’s no fun.” He smiled. “Why don’t we go put your bag away and stuff huh?” He started to stand up, but Tim pushed him back down.   
  
“I’ll help her. You, sit.” He extended a hand to Lily, in which she took it and they walked to go do her after school routine. Once they left Jay sat next to Brian, pulling out his phone.   
  
“Alright, so food? Whatcha feeling?”  
  
“... Chinese.”  
  
Jay nodded and started to order a bunch of random things. Once the order was placed, Jay just leaned back into the couch and looked for the remote.   
  
“When are we going to practice for this weekend?” Brian Looked at him curiously, surprised he wasn’t already asking him questions.   
  
“Tomorrow. Let’s all just hang out and not think about trivia for now, yeah? One day won’t hurt us.”  
  
“You sure?”  
  
“Positive.” Jay smiled at him before locating the remote and flipping through channels before it eventually landed on Friends. “You like this show?”  
  
“Yeah. I love it.” Brian gave a small smile.  
  
“Who’s your favorite?” “  
  
Phoebe or Chandler. What about you?”  
  
“Monica and Rachel are my girls.” Jay snickered.   
  
“Um, hello. Brian is right, Chandler is the best character.” Tim arrived with Lily, sitting down on the couch as well. Jay had the corner seat, Tim was on the end and Lily and Brian were in the middle.   
  
“He’s so sassy and kinda mean, though.”  
  
“And Monica and Rachel aren’t?”   
  
“...Yeah, good point.”   
  
They mindlessly watched Friends for a little bit. Lily was a bit too young to understand most of it, but she did laugh every time one of them did something silly. Brian seemed to cheer up a bit, glad to be around people he cared about. And the food was equally as joy-inducing considering Jay ordered an absurd amount of things. It was practically a feast.  
  
“You didn’t have to order all of this food, babe.” Tim chuckled, counting at least 6 different entrees in a mountain of rice, appetizers, and soup.  
  
“Well of course I did.” Jay grinned, booping his nose. In which Tim’s nose twitched a bit and he playfully threw a shrimp at his husband. “Hey!”   
  
Brian gave a tiny smile, watching as Lily giggled at these grown-ass men have a mini food fight. They all ate to their heart's desires, boxing up the leftovers and hanging out for a while until it was eventually time to put Lily to bed. Brian stood up from his spot on the couch, trying to hide the little bit of a limp as he helped her get ready for bed. Tucking her in, turning on the nightlight and leaving the door cracked before walking back out to the living room. Brian had put the events of the day behind him, but the second he stepped out into the living room, it all came flooding back to him.  
  
_“6 people were injured after a severe car wreck this morning right off of the highway. They were rushed to the hospital, all but one survived. A young g-”_   
  
Brian stopped listening to the news on the tv, freezing in the doorway.   
  
“Shit.,” Jay muttered, noticing Brian in the doorway and immediately flipping the channel.  
  
“That was at your ER wasn’t it?” Tim asked softly, slowly approaching Brian. He now understood why he acted the way he did earlier.  
  
“Uh.. yeah.” Brian cleared his throat. “I’m gonna uh- go get some water. You guys want anything?”   
  
“I’ll go get it.” Jay zoomed before he could stop him. Brian just continued to stare at the ground until Tim moved a bit closer.   
  
“Was she your patient?”  
  
“Yeah. She was in too critical of condition.”  
  
“Then it wasn’t your fault. You did everything you could.” He remembered what her mom said to him when he had to tell her the news.  
  
“I could have done more.”   
  
“You did everything you could,” Tim said again, motioning for him to sit down. “You couldn’t have avoided the wreck.”   
  
Brian hesitantly sat back on the couch, Tim sat on one side of them and Jay joined just to sit on the other side, handing Brian the glass of water. He gave him a small thank you, taking a few sips before they continued.   
  
“I became a trauma nurse so things like this don’t… have to happen.”  
  
“You can only do so much. You’re still human. And those you have helped are thankful for what you’ve done for them. You can’t save everyone, Brian. And that’s okay.” Brian nodded, resting his chin in his hands. He stayed silent for a moment before giving a bitter chuckle.   
  
“God, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know her. I shouldn’t be moping about it.” Before he was given time to process it, Jay was flicking his forehead.   
  
“Brian Thomas you are a goddamn trauma nurse. I can’t even begin to comprehend the things you probably see. Don’t you ever apologize for being upset over that. Especially given the situation.” That was the most serious tone he had ever heard Jay used, which shocked him and Tim both. But Brian couldn’t shake the thought of what happened to her happening to his girl. Which they all knew that’s what he was thinking about. And Jay was right, he experienced things that most people wouldn’t be able to handle.   
  
Tim nodded in agreement but didn’t flick him thankfully.   
  
“You don’t have to be strong all the time. You’re allowed to get upset over things like that. And we’re here for you so you don’t have to go through it alone.” He paused for a moment, letting their words sink in before giving a little nod.  
  
“Thank you. Both of you.”   
  
“Of course, Brian. You’re not just my trivia partner, you’re our friend. We care about you and Lily a lot.” Jay slung his arm around Brian, reaching to pull Tim in as well as they had a little awkward couch group hug.   
  
“I care about you guys too.” He wrapped his arms around them both with a little squeeze.  
  
Jay just smiled, reaching up to ruffle his hair.   
  
“You fucking better.”


	6. How Fast Does Rain Fall?

Brian got up the next morning a bit embarrassed about being so vulnerable yesterday in front of his friends but was ready to hopefully have a better day. He listened to the rain heavily hitting the window for a moment before he got up and quietly limped his way over to Lily’s room to wake her up. But to his surprise she wasn’t there and the bed was neatly made up already. 

Thankfully his immediate worry didn’t last long as he heard her giggles from downstairs and he breathed a sigh of relief. He slowly walked down to see Tim and Jay who ended up staying the night to keep an eye on Brian (Though they’d say it was because of the rain) were both in the kitchen with Lily. Jay was stirring what seemed to be pancake batter while Tim and Lily were on the other side of the counter tossing some blueberries into the bowl. And occasionally at Jay. 

Brian quietly walked up while Jay wasn’t paying attention, putting a finger over his lips to tell Tim and Lily to keep quiet as he slipped a blueberry out of the bag and tossed it right at the back of Jay’s head. 

“Alright!? Who was it- Oh hey Brian… BRIAN!?” Jay whipped around with a spoon in his hand, pouting as the three laughed at him. Tim gave Brian a proud nod, glad he taught him well since his attempt to scare Jay worked much better than his attempt at the laundromat. 

“What’s going on in here?”

“We’re making pancakes!” Lily smiled and ran to her dad’s side. 

“It only took us an hour to decide on a recipe… We’re surprised the yelling didn’t wake you up sooner.” Tim chuckled, tricking Jay into thinking he was tossing a blueberry at him but instead just tossed it into the bowl. 

Brian chuckled but peeked over to the time, realizing that it was already 10:00 am. Which is at least 3 hours after when he usually wakes up. 

“Yeah well if you three don’t stop throwing things then all the pancakes will be for me!” Jay snapped him back into reality and gave an attempt at a maniacal laugh but seeing as he wasn’t anywhere near intimidating, everyone laughed at him once more in return. 

“Fine, all the pancakes for me then.” Jay huffed and turned towards the stove but as he did, the whole house suddenly dimmed. 

Lily looked around in a mild panic and Brian squeezed her hand. 

“Dad what’s going on?”

“Ah… Shi- Uh. Shoot. The power must have gone out because of the rain.” He mouthed an apology to Tim and Jay for the inconvenience, but they didn’t seem to mind one bit. 

“When will it come back?”

“I’m not sure, Lil… Let me call Mr. Alex okay? If it looks like it’s going to be awhile he can help us with the generator.”

“...Mr. Alex?” Tim questioned. 

“Oh! And can Jason come over too?!” Lily chimed in

“...Jason?”

“Alex is the neighbor across the street and Jason is his son. He’s… A weird guy. But handy in these kinds of situations.” Brian explained as he leaned against the counter, trying to discreetly take his weight off of his ankle. But Tim was immediately onto his shit. 

Though just as he was about to comment about both that and the state of the next few hours, a distressed Jay butt in.

“Okay okay this is great and all… BUT WHAT ABOUT MY PANCAKES?!”

***

When the power didn’t return, Alex came over to help with the generator. 

Tim and Jay left for a bit to go get a change of clothes and some breakfast. Since they’d probably be back for trivia practice today anyways and Tim was persistent despite the heavy rain. 

Lily was off playing with Jason. Which left Brian with Amy while Alex worked.

“So how have you been Brian?” 

The sweet girl who was way too pretty for Alex sat across from him with a smile, lightly tapping the table with her nails. 

“I’ve been alright. Just working, doing trivia, taking care of Lily.”

“You must be really into all this trivia stuff!”

“Yeah. I guess I am.” He chuckled. “It’s a nice break from everything.”

“I bet! Especially with your work. I um... heard about what happened yesterday on the news.”

“Oh.” Was all Brian could say in return to Amy, his face immediately twisting up at the thought. 

“Oh gosh, maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m so sorry, Brian.”

“It’s okay, Ames.” He gave her a reassuring smile, reaching over to give her hand a squeeze as he could tell she felt bad. 

She sighed and nodded, returning the smile. 

“Oh! I have some pie next door I made this morning, let me bring you some!” She smiled, hoping it would cheer Brian up.

“Well I surely can’t say no to that.” 

“I’ll be right back!” 

Brian chuckled and watched as she hurried out the door, and just seconds later Tim and Jay appeared with once again way more food than they needed.

“We have returned!”

“I can see that.” Brian chuckled and got up to help them carry the food but Tim immediately glared at him to  _ sit the fuck down _ . 

So he did. 

All at once, Lily and Jason ran in, Amy returned with two whole blueberry pies and Alex emerged from the garage after the power flicked on. 

“...Well good thing we got enough food for everyone.”

The 7 of them sat down and chatted over mounds of bagels, donuts, pie and coffee. Tim and Jay got to learn about the anomaly that was Alex’s family until they eventually returned to their house across the street. And though Alex wouldn’t admit it, he did kind of enjoy the company. And was glad that Amy got to be there too.

It was early afternoon by the time they left, and so the team continued their routine of Jay and Brian practicing for nationals while Tim played with Lily in the next room. 

“If you’re still not up for it we can hold off until tomorrow, Bri.” Jay looked to him as he got out his binder of questions, still a bit cautious after yesterday.

“No, no. I’ll be fine. Nationals is only a few days away. We need to be nothing short of perfect.” 

Jay couldn’t help but smile even though he was still worried. But he liked his spirit. 

“If you need a break, you’ll tell me?”

“Yes I will.”

“Promise?” Jay offered his hand from the other side of the table, outstretching his pinky since this was now 5th grade and this was serious. 

But Brian couldn’t refuse as he wrapped his finger around Jay’s.

“I promise.” 

“Good.” 

They held their hands like that for a few seconds longer until Brian pulled away. 

“...Hey Jay?”

“Hey Brian!” Jay grinned as he sorted through the binder, his expression lighting up a bit as his enthusiasm got Brian to give a small chuckle. 

“Thanks for sticking around, I know sitting through a power outage and hanging out with my weird neighbor probably wasn’t on your list of things to do today but-”

“We didn’t mind one bit.” Jay poked Brian’s hand, pausing for a moment before sighing. His normal goofiness fading away for a moment. “You’re really… Our only friend here, Bri. It’s nice to see and  _ be _ a part of… Your everyday life y'know?”

Brian looked a bit shocked by what Jay said. He noticed Tim peeking over from the other room too. 

“Well, hey. I might not have a lot of excitement in my life… But you both are more than welcome here. Anytime. Not just for trivia.” Brian lightly returned the poke to Jay’s hand. It might have only been a few months but they were Brian’s best friend. He wanted them to know he’d always be there for them. 

“Thanks, Bri. It means a lot.”

Brian smiled and nodded and with that out of the way Jay returned his goofy smile and handed Brian a stack of index cards. And until evening rolled around they both continued to quiz each other until they could both confidently say. 

“We’re ready for nationals!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really didn't intend to upload this chapter on the one year of when I last uploaded a chapter but here we are anyways.


	7. How Many Gays Can Fit On One Bed?

Days and nights of practice finally rolled around into the night before Nationals. Tonight was the first night since the… incident that Tim and Jay didn’t stay over. Brian enjoyed slipping back into his normal routine and having a night alone with his daughter before he’d be gone for a few days but he also didn’t realize how lonely he felt without having them here. 

“You excited to go stay with Mr. Alex and Mrs. Amy for a few days, Lil?”

Lily was sitting at the end of the bed as Brian packed, adjusting her focus back and forth from her dad to the cartoons playing mindlessly in the background. 

“Yeah! But I’m gonna miss you.” 

“I’ll miss you too sweetie.” 

“And-And tell Mr. Jay and Mr. Tim I’m gonna miss them too!” 

Brian paused for a moment, immediately pushing back a few happy tears. He looked to her and sat down the shirt he was folding before grabbing his phone out of his pocket and turning it to the camera.

“Why don’t you tell them Lil? I’m sure they’d love that.” 

Lily posed immediately as her dad turned on the camera and as he did she repeated how much she’d miss them putting all of the love she could into it and Brian sent it off seconds later. 

“Did I do it right?!”

“You were perfect.” Brian chuckled, his phone immediately chiming with messages from the group chat he shared with the two. 

Jay: oh my god  
Jay: OH MY GOD  
Jay: My HEARTTTT  
Jay: How cute is she! 

Tim: Don’t let these fool you, Bri. He’s already crying.  
Tim: But tell Lily we’ll miss her too. 

“They said they’ll miss you too, Lil.” Brian smiled and sat his phone down on the bed, continuing to pack as Lily watched her cartoons but he could tell she was smiling. 

Once he finished up his packing and put Lily to bed, Brian laid down on his bed with a sigh.

He’d never really had anything like this in his life. Something he could work towards winning.  
He’d never gone on a trip with people he cared about so much. 

And he’d never… cared about anyone as much as he did Tim and Jay. It felt like they were so much more than just his best friends. They’re the people who changed his life. 

Brian took a deep breath, falling asleep with a smile on his face. 

***

Brian got up early the next morning to drop Lily off at the bus stop and then pick up Tim and Jay to head to the airport. 

“NATIONALS BABY!” Jay hopped into the backseat. “We made it, Bri!” He leaned forward to pat Brian’s shoulder before sitting back.

Tim finished putting their bags into the trunk and then slipped into the passenger's seat next to Brian. He was excited but didn’t have the energy to show it like Jay did. 

Brian chuckled and handed the two of them a cup of coffee he had up front for the drive. 

“Oh shit. Thanks Bri.” Jay smiled and graciously took the coffee though he probably didn’t need the caffeine. And Tim did as well. 

“Thanks… Do you need me to drive by the way? I know you’re still limping, Thomas.” 

“It’s only a 20 minute drive to the airport, Tim I’ll be fine.” 

Tim raised an eyebrow but didn’t feel like getting in a fight with him about it so he just sipped at his coffee for now and enjoyed the drive. 

The drive was pretty uneventful for the most part and then they arrived at the airport, going through security and everything until they were eventually on the plane. 

Jay thankfully got the three of their seats next to each other, which helped Brian as he had the sudden realization of- 

“I’ve never been on a plane before. And I’m afraid of heights.” 

“Did you… Forget that?” Jay looked to Brian as he claimed his window seat and Tim claimed the aisle, leaving Brian in the middle. 

“Kind of. I’ve been so busy I didn’t even think about it!” 

“You’ll be fine, Bri. Taking off is the worst part.” Tim smiled.  
“...Thanks.” Brian chuckled, fastening his seat belt and watching the stewardess run through her script and then a few minutes later the plane started to make its way down the runway. 

Brian immediately gripped the armrest on either side of him, tapping it lightly as the plane started to go faster and faster until eventually they were starting to take off into the air. 

He closed his eyes, squeezing the armrests so tight he couldn’t even feel as Tim and Jay on either side of him placed a hand over his.

“See! You did it!” Jay smiled and patted Brian’s hand. He looked down on either side of him as he just now noticed they were and he looked away as his face turned a bit red. 

“Thanks guys.” Brian smiled, a bit embarrassed. 

“Don’t worry about it. The scary part is over.” Tim pulled his hand away and Jay did the same, the two of them exchanging a glance before Jay pulled a set of index cards out of his backpack. 

“Babe. You two aren’t actually going to practice in the middle of a flight are you?”

“Yes we are Tim. Tomorrow we compete against some of the best trivia pairs in the country!”

Tim sighed and nodded, putting on his headphones so the two could practice in peace. 

Jay smiled and handed Brian the cards. 

“Do we know like… What we’re getting for winning by the way?” Brian asked, realizing he never really thought about it until now. 

“No idea!” 

***

That afternoon they finally landed in New York. 

Since it was still a bit until check in the three of them dropped off their bags with the front desk before going out on the town. First they hit up as many touristy spots and shops as they could, getting an unreasonable amount of souvenirs before they decided to go get dinner and drinks. 

They got a table at a random restaurant, getting some celebratory beers since they finally made it.

“I’d like to propose a toast.” Jay held up his glass and the other two did the same. “To Trivia!” 

“To… Trivia?” Tim and Brian questioned in unison and the three of them clinked their glasses.  
Jay smiled and went to pull out the binder but Tim smacked his hand away. 

“Nope. No. No trivia at dinner. You guys practiced the entire flight here and it’s not until tomorrow night. Just take a break. We’re in New York! Enjoy it.”

Jay paused for a moment before putting the binder back down. 

“If we lose. I’m blaming you.” 

“Okay, babe.” Tim chuckled, kissing his cheek.

Brian smiled at the two and pulled out his phone, ready to send Amy a message to make sure his daughter was okay when Tim smacked his phone out of his hand as well. 

“And you! Lily is fine. You trust Amy, right? Just relax.” 

“I wish I could smack something out of your hand and tell you to chill out but somehow you’re the calmest one here…” 

“I’m just going with the flow, Bri. It’s what I do.” Tim took a sip of his beer with a smirk. “I just want my two favorite people to have a good time.” 

Brian smiled, a bit surprised by what Tim said. It made him happy to know that maybe he was important to them.

The three of them chatted over plates of bar foods and drinks for hours. By the time they left it was already dark so they decided to go ahead and head back to the hotel for the night. 

Jay was a bit tipsy, leaning on Tim’s shoulder who was seemingly not phased by his four beers as they walked back. Brian was just enjoying the cool evening air, kinda lost in his own thoughts as Tim chatted with his intoxicated husband. 

They eventually made it back to the hotel, grabbing their things and checking into the room. For money’s sake they all decided to share the room, but the problem was-

“Didn’t we ask for a room with two beds?” Jay asked, putting his bags down right by the single king sized bed in the room. 

“Yeah we did… But the lady at the front desk said we booked the last available room…” Tim sighed, looking to Brian. 

“It’s fine! I can just sleep on the floor.” 

“For three days? No way.” Jay flopped down, bouncing off the bed a bit.  
“I can.. Get a room at a different hotel?”

“No. Don’t waste your money on that.” Tim thought for a moment and looked to Jay. The two of them had a silent conversation, leaving Brian to awkwardly sway as they did until Tim looked back to him. 

“We’ll just all share the bed. It’s no big deal.”

“Are you sure?”

“Sure! Doesn’t bother us.” Jay smiled and slipped off his shoes. “If you really rather sleep on the floor you can but…”

“I mean I rather not.”

The three of them quietly went through their nightly routines, watching a bit of shitty hotel tv until they all laid down and eventually fell asleep.

Brian on the far right with Jay and Tim on the other side. Though at some point in the middle of the night, Brian was rolled right over next to them.


	8. How Do You Know You're In Love?

“And the winner of this year's Trivia National Championship is…” 

Brian and Jay were holding each others hands standing at their table where they had spent the better part of the day facing off against other pairs to make it to where they were now. Standing in front of a panel of tired looking judges and a small audience made up of basically family and friends. Tim was leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, covering his mouth in anticipation as the emcee took their sweet time opening the envelope in his hand. He could tell they were taking an amusement to watching these grown adults wait to see whether or not they won. 

The paper crinkled in their hand as they read it over and then spoke into the mic with a big grin. 

“Jay Merrick and Brian Thomas!” 

Jay let out a scream, immediately turning to hug Brian who was waiting with a goofy grin and open arms. The emcee handed them a trophy, one of those comically large checks and an envelope stuffed to the brim with Olive Garden coupons. After a few photos and scattered applause, Tim was right up there with them, hugging his husband and his best friend on their… odd achievement but achievement nonetheless. 

And he couldn’t be more proud of them. 

They spent some time talking to the other teams before eventually making their way back to the hotel. The first thing they did was call Lily and the Kralies, telling them the good news and promising them lots of Olive Garden when they got back. Brian couldn’t stop smiling even after the call ended at the sound of his daughters cheering and excitement even though she still didn’t entirely understand what they were doing. 

“Well. What now?” Jay sat down on his side of the bed as the adrenaline started to wear down. 

“Shouldn’t we be celebrating?” Tim chuckled. “You two just won the national trivia championship and we’re in New York!” 

“But I’m so tired!”

“Then we’ll get coffee but dammit I’m not letting the two of you sit around the hotel room all night.”

Brian gave a small grin, looking at Jay.

“I think he’s right.”

***

4 in the afternoon turned to 1 in the morning as the boys arrived back at the hotel room, all three of them once again varying levels of intoxicated as they laughed over some joke Jay cracked that wasn’t even funny but at least in the moment it was the funniest thing any of them had ever heard. They didn’t even bother to flip on the lights as they kicked off their shoes and made their way over to the bed. 

Tim being the least drunk had the two of them linked onto his arms as he flopped down onto the bed, Jay immediately falling back and Brian swaying a bit but clinging onto his arm. 

Tim carefully laid back, taking Brian down with him and pulling up Jay so his head was against his chest. 

“Y’know… You were right Tim.. That was’alot of fun…” Brian smiled. “But.. I haven’t had that much to drink since… College!” 

“We should drink with Brian more! I’ve never seen someone be able to keep up with Tim’s drinking like that before.”

“Sounds like someone was a party boy in College.” 

“No.. I was just a med student. My sister was always more of the partier… I guess I learned from her.” 

Tim who was again the least intoxicated made a mental note of the comment. But didn’t ask about it. 

“Well whatever you did paid off!” Jay giggled and reached across Tim’s chest to poke Brian’s cheek but instead flopped down right where he was. 

The three of them chatted mindlessly for a while about every topic under the sun, the intoxication started to mix with the general tired energy as the night continued on. 

Brian leaned his head against Tim’s shoulder lightly. He looked up to Tim and then over to Jay who was just kind of staring at him in admiration.

“Hey Brian?” Jay yawned. 

“Yes Jay?”

“You know we fucking love you. Right?”

“I love you guys too. You’re my best friends.”

Jay in his drunk and tired state of mind gave a small chuckle, his tone turning probably about as serious as it could be right now. He scoot himself closer to Tim, reaching over and meeting his hand that was already resting on Brian’s back

“No like. We actually love you.”

Brian started to tear up a bit as he smiled.

“That’s really nice of you.” He didn’t quite understand the weight of Jay’s comment. And honestly neither did Jay.

But as the night went on and the two fell asleep. It was all Tim could think about.


End file.
